Summer Holiday

As I am sure we all know, set in the 60’s and is the story of four employees of a bus company who set off in a London Bus to travel to the South of France, meet 3 young ladies and divert themselves to Athens and on a personal level, it was wonderful to hear the songs of my youth performed by such talented and confident young people.  

I must start by saying the Bus was just wonderful – whoever made it all I can say is what an achievement – it was great – and I loved the idea that you used it as a photo opportunity for the young people in the audience at the end of the show – great idea!

The scenery, bus apart, was simple but very effective and I liked the progress of the bus shown in miniature passing the various landmarks.  As is generally the case with ‘shows taken from films’ there is an almost constant need to change the scenery and this show is no exception.  Scene changes were handled in the main by the cast, and were quick and efficient. 

Costumes somehow were not quite of the period – but looked good and were worn well – the cast looked quite comfortable with them.

I did struggle somewhat with the sound balance, in that I felt the music was too loud in the ‘voice over’ sections.  Where I was sitting it really was more ‘music over’ and on numerous occasions I was unable to hear the dialogue for the music which was a real shame as it helps so much with the development of the characters.

The ensemble were generally good – watching and reacting to the plot as it evolved but I was less convinced by the dance routines – delivered well but somehow not quite ‘in keeping’.  I would have preferred to see groups of two and threes (or more) dancing together, maybe round a handbag for added humour, rather than long lines.  

The principals were all good, some really excellent displaying, as they did, excellent characterisations and facial expressions. 

Overall, my most sincere congratulations go to everyone connected with this production – it was a really nostalgic and feel-good evening out displaying the talent, confidence and enthusiasm of the young people who can be justly proud of their talent.  Thank you for a most enjoyable evening.

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